The present invention relates generally to computer network and equipment monitoring systems and methods and, more particularly, to computer network monitoring systems that can be accessed locally or remotely. Even more particularly, the present invention relates to a computer network and equipment monitoring system that can provide real-time status of environmental conditions, alarm functions, and real-time video imaging of a space or equipment being monitored over a global network, such as the internet.
Data traffic on networks, particularly on the internet, has increased dramatically over the past several years, and this trend will continue with the rapid growth of e-commerce and other services on the internet requiring greater bandwidth. With this increase in data traffic on networks, there has been a corresponding increase in the number of computer equipment rooms, known as xe2x80x9cserver rooms,xe2x80x9d used to house the equipment necessary to support data traffic routing. Furthermore, the increasing dependency of companies on their internet presence has created an urgency to keep the server rooms up and running at all times. Industry estimates show that there are over 400,000 such rooms currently in existence in the United States.
The growth in internet traffic has prompted many businesses to construct a server room to allow their employees to access internet information or enable e-commerce and store data. Once viewed as a goal, continuous server up time has become a necessity. Keeping track of numerous computers, along with associated bridges, routers, backup power supplies, etc., can be a formidable task. A large company with server rooms in more than one city might well be faced with spending thousands of dollars on software packages to keep their equipment running. Prices of $1,000 per computer are common. Dedicated technicians are also needed to monitor network equipment and issue work orders to repair failed units.
While reliable, modern computer systems cannot tolerate excess heat, dust or humidity. Heat can rapidly cause equipment deterioration. Failure of CPU cooling fans can reduce equipment lifetime to days or hours. A single high-speed LAN (local area network) failure can cause slow system response. These and other such failures within the equipment in a server room occur routinely and can cause great disruption to a business.
Solutions do currently exist for monitoring computer networks and equipment to prevent such failures. However, these solutions are primarily targeted at high-end, very large systems such as those used by large corporations or institutions that have large budgets to support equipment monitoring. For example, Hewlett-Packard provides a high-end monitoring package with a starting price of around $250,000. In the middle tier, smaller monitoring solutions can be had for approximately $20,000. Some of these systems only permit inspection of devices on a local basis. Others permit a technician to inspect geographically diverse installations from a central console. However, all of these solutions are expensive to implement and complex and difficult to maintain and train personnel to use them.
As a result, small to medium companies having small to medium networks are left in the position of requiring a means to monitor and maintain their computer network equipment from failing while not having the resources to afford the high-priced solutions currently available. Many firms cannot afford a high-end solution or simply do not have the time and resources to train their IT personnel to learn and use complex systems. Instead, the common monitoring method in many such companies is user complains to the IT manager to indicate when a problem has occurred. The idea is that someone in the organization will notice a failure and call for repairs before damage can be done. The reality, however, is that most IT managers have suffered some form of server room damage from excess heat or other physical phenomenon or simply just failure.
This is especially true for companies having multiple server rooms and that have concerns about routine access to each of these rooms. For example, most IT managers would like some form of remote access for determining the status of a server room. Additionally, concerns exist with current solutions regarding the manpower intensiveness of these solutions. Most network monitoring solutions can consume a full- or part-time employee. The financial justification for these systems is, therefore, difficult because network equipment typically fails yearly, or on a disaster basis, and the cost of recovery is seen as less than that of maintaining a full-time employee to routinely monitor the equipment.
Similar concerns exist for monitoring rack-mounted components such that individual components within a rack can be monitored remotely. Also, current monitoring solutions do not provide for video imaging of remote server locations over a network. Computer equipment is typically placed in server rooms for two reasons: security and environmental control. Remote video imaging of a server room over a network can provide for maintaining security of the equipment despite the lack of a physical presence on site.
A typical computer room can house hundreds of devices, ranging from expensive server grade computers to bridges, routers, uninterruptable power supplies and telephone equipment. A server room""s environment requires monitoring because out of limit environmental variables can eventually affect the equipment in the room. For example, high temperatures, humidity (for example, from water leaks), or lack of air flow can detrimentally affect the equipment. Similarly, alarms, such as smoke and fire alarms, or the status of room openings, are important to determine. While the expense of replacing server room components if they fail is great, currently existing monitoring solutions are not cost effective for smaller-sized companies to implement despite the potential costs of such losses.
Therefore, a need exists for a method and system for monitoring computer networks and equipment that can fit into different levels of information technology (xe2x80x9cITxe2x80x9d) management, from very large companies with large network operation centers and deployed worldwide networks, to small companies with one internet server.
A further need exists for a computer network and equipment monitoring method and system that can be implemented in a small space, is simple to install, maintain and manage, and is reliable. Such a system can be configured with no moving parts, such as the keyboard, disk drives or monitors of conventional computer systems.
An even further need exists for a computer network and equipment monitoring method and system that can provide access and control through a global network such as the internet and that are capable of processing HTTP, HTML, MIME, TeleNet, TCP/IP and SNMP, standards.
A still further need exists for a computer network and equipment monitoring method and system that can provide a video image of a room upon the occurrence of a pre-set condition, such as a door opening.
Still further, a need exists for a computer network and equipment monitoring method and system that can perform continuous computer network monitoring, monitoring of the environmental conditions of a computer room, and an evaluation of individual components, and automatically provide a report in the event of an out-of-limit condition. Such a system and method should be able to determine the power status of a device, use SNMP, Bios API, or Windows NT (or similar operating systems) to determine accessory conditions, assemble a complete report, and send email or pager messages on out-of-limit conditions.
An even further need exists for a computer network and equipment monitoring method and system that can communicate to personnel monitoring the system via the internet through, for example, an Ethernet 10-base-T Category 3 or Category 5 wire, or through an optional dial-up telephone line for network down conditions.
A still further need exists for a computer network and equipment monitoring method and system that can measure the physical conditions of a server room, such as room temperature, humidity, and/or air flow, and detect whether a smoke alarm has gone off.
Furthermore, a need exists for a computer network and equipment monitoring method and system that can report equipment or environmental conditions via the internet through a Web page, email or through a pager or a telephone call.
A still further need exists for a computer network and equipment monitoring method and system that can provide a downloadable memory function to make adding or changing functionality simple. IT managers can thus modify or even invent tasks for the system. Administration can be via straightforward HTML tables requiring no training.
A further need exists for a computer network and equipment monitoring method and system that can provide a micro web-server powered through an Ethernet cable, thus eliminating the need for the micro web server to have a wall-supplied power source.
Moreover, a need exists for a computer network and equipment monitoring system and method with the ability to control an external, high-voltage load from either a remote or local location.
In accordance with the present invention, a computer network and equipment monitoring method and system are provided that substantially eliminate or reduce disadvantages and problems associated with previously developed systems and methods for monitoring computer networks and equipment.
More specifically, the present invention provides a method and system for monitoring a space and its contents over a network. The system can include an embedded microprocessor, such as Java microprocessor, to provide processing and network connectivity capability, and sensors to detect physical parameters associated with the space. The sensors can generate one or more sensor signals representative of the detected physical parameters. An analog-to-digital converter can convert the sensor signals to a digital format and can provide corresponding digital signals to the microprocessor.
The system further includes instructions for processing the sensor signals and corresponding digital signals. An alarm signal can be generated when any of the physical parameters exceeds a corresponding threshold value. The system of the present invention can have at least one input/output port for communicating with the network and one or more memory modules for storing system data. The system of this invention can have a network-based interface for providing programming instructions to the microprocessor and for receiving monitoring status and alarm information from the system. The interface can be an HTML interface. A power source provides power to the system.
The present invention provides a technical advantage of a computer network and equipment monitoring method and system that that can be implemented in a small space, is simple to install, maintain and manage, and is reliable.
A further technical advantage of the present invention is its ability to provide access and control through a global network such as the internet and the capability to process HTTP, HTML, MIME, and SNMP standards.
An even further technical advantage of the present invention is the ability to provide a video image of a room upon the occurrence of a pre-set condition, such as a door opening or whenever the website is addressed.
Still further, a technical advantage of the present invention is the ability to perform continuous computer network monitoring, to monitor the environmental conditions of a computer room, and to evaluate individual network components and automatically provide a report in the event of an out-of-limit condition.
A still further technical advantage provided by the present invention is the ability to communicate with personnel monitoring the system via the internet or an intranet.
An even further technical advantage of the present invention is the ability to report equipment or environmental conditions via the internet through a Web page, email or through a pager or a telephone call.
A still further a technical advantage of this invention is a downloadable memory function to make adding or changing functionality simple.
Still further, a technical advantage provided this invention is a micro web-server powered through an Ethernet cable, thus eliminating the need for the micro web server to have a wall-supplied power source.
Moreover, a technical advantage of the present invention is a computer network and equipment monitoring system and method with the ability to control an external load from either a remote or local location.
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the invention as claimed.